Shutoff for automatic sprinklers



g- 1950 A. o. WELLS ET AL SHUTOFF FOR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS Filed July 9, 1945 Mam M By .fif "*5 M Patented Aug. 29. 1950 SHUTOFF FOR AUTOMATIC. SPRINKLERS Adelbert 0. Wells and Vernon F. Kirchofi, I Burbank, Calif.

Application July 9, 1945, Serial No. 603,964

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to a'shut-ofi for automatic sprinkling devices.

In office buildings, lofts and other structures it is common practice to place automatic sprinklers in the ceilings which are sealed by a fusible metal plug. This plug melts when the temperature in the room rises to any desired point, such as would be occasioned by a fire in the room. There is no shut-off on these sprinklers and in case one is accidentally broken, a room may become completely flooded before the water can be turned off from the exterior water supply. In office buildings the water for fire protection is usually stored in tanks upon the roof of the building and if one of these sprinklers on the lower floor is broken off, .all the water in the entire building will flow through the sprinklers before anything can be done about it.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a device which can be quickly slipped into place upon a sprinkler when it is in operation which will seal off and stop the flow of water. At present there are certain devices on the market that will accomplish the above purpose but they are large and cumbersome and when a fireman tries to turn off the water after a fire in the building, he must carry several dozen of these shut-offs.

Our device comprises an arrangement of expansible cylinders which can be carried easily in any persons pocket and attached and put in place to shut off the water very quickly and easily.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred forms thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of a form of our invention in position to seal a sprinkler.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the shut-off.

Figure 3 is an exploded side elevation.

Figure 4 is a side elevation in section of a modification.

In Figure 1 is shown a sprinkler with our shutoff in place. In this figure the numeral 1 represents a main supply pipe of a Water circulating system which has connected to it the usual plumbers T 2 which depends from the ceiling of the room. Screwed into the T 2 is a nipple 3. This nipple has a bore 4 running therethrough which is ordinarily plugged by a fusible member which is held in place in the bracket 5 extending downwardly from the nipple 3. When the fusible plug melts, the water from pipe I can pour through the bore 4 and strike the upstanding pin 6 causing a spray to flood the room. The fusible plug and its mechanism are not part of our invention and need not be described here as our shutoff works on any type of sprinkle having the bracket 5.

Our shut-01f comprises a cylinder 1 made of metal or other rigid, non-yieldable material which has a notch 8 thereon to receive the end of the pin 6. The cylinder 1 fits inside of the frame 5. A second cylinder 9 is formed to have a sliding but substantially water-tight fit on the cylinder 1. The cylinder 9 is provided with an extension In on its upper exterior surface to engage the end ll of the boss 3. A central hole l2 permits the water passing through the bore 4 to enter the chamber l4 formed by the two cylinders 1 and 9 upon which its pressure reacts to force the cylinder 9 outwardly from the cylinder I and into water-tight contact with nipple 3 thereby shutting off the flow of water. A rubber gasket l3 can be provided to more thoroughly seal the joint. The pressure of the water in the chamber I4 prevents the return of the cylinder 9 over the cylinder 1 and maintains the shut-01f fo the water coming out of the bore 4.

A modification of our invention is shown in Figure 4. In this modification rubber or other yieldable substance forms a cylinder l5 which has accordion plaited sides [6. At the upper end of the cylinder I5 is a port [1. This cylinder I5 is slipped into position in the same way as the cylinders 1 and 9 on the bracket 5 and the water flowing into the chamber 20 will straighten out the accordion plaits l6 and force the upper sur-' face l8 into a sealing contact with the boss 3. To further strengthen the cylinder l5 and prevent the same from expanding laterally instead of vertically, the wires 19 are provided within the accordion plaits which bind the cylinder in a lateral position but yet permit a vertical stretching of the cylinder.

While we have described the preferred embodiments of our invention we are not limited to any of the details set forth except as described in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In an attachment for sealing off water sprinklers having a nipple and a bracket extending from said nipple, an expansible cylinder adapted to be positioned between said bracket and said nipple, an opening into said cylinder adjacent to said nipple to port water into said cylinder from said nipple, sealing means surrounding said opening and adapted to engage said nipple, said expansible cylinder adapted to expand against said bracket and said nipple to REFERENCES CITED figg g seahng means agamst the end of Sam The following references are of record in th file of this patent:

2. In an attachment for sealing off water sprinklers having a nipple and a bracket extend- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS ing from said nipple, a cylinder having an open Number Name Date end, a second cylinder slidable over said first 313,080 Kaiser Mar. 3,1885 cylinder and having an opening into said first 1,508,398 Kelly Sept. 16, 1924 cylinder," an opening on one of saidxcylinders to 2,21 ,1 1 V011 n enh m A 2 1 4 surroundsaid nipple and to receive the flow of 10 2,230,644 -Horta. Feb. 4, 1941 water from said sprinklers into said cylinders, 2,26 ,462 Hunter Nov. 18,1941 the other of said cylinders adapted to engage said bracket. r ADELBER'I '0. 'W'ELLS. VERNON F. *KIRCHOFE. I5 

